Lost
by Silwen Aurdomiel
Summary: Elladan and Elrohir have been left to babysit their younger brother Estel, with the help of Legolas and his brothers. But what happens when Estel is lost and the elves go after the captors? Are they risking their own lives for Estel?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any of Tolkien's original characters, places, plots, etc.  However, I do own my OCs, they are mine (yes, my precious, my love….). 

Now, to the story…

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**_Chapter 1_**

            "You are positive you are able to handle this?" Lord Elrond asked his twin sons, Elladan and Elrohir.  They stood near the gates of Rivendell, Elrond making ready to leave.

            "Yes, ada," answered Elladan.

            "Estel is merely five-years-old.  How hard can he be to manage?" said Elrohir.

            Snickers came from three of the four blonde elves standing beside the twins.

            "You two obviously have no notion of what you speak of," said Adrahil, eldest son of King Thranduil.  He and his brothers, Brethilorn, Thalion, and Legolas were visiting Rivendell.

            "If Estel is anything like Tithen-las here," started Brethilorn, gesturing at Legolas, who scowled at him.  "Which he is, I assure you," he continued.  "He will not be easy to manage."

            "Thank you for reassuring my sons," said Elrond crossly, but couldn't help but smile.

            "Not a problem," beamed Thalion.

            "Have no worries, my lord," said Adrahil reassuringly.  "We will help them."

            "Off a cliff," muttered Elrohir.

            "Not a bad idea," said Legolas, causing his brothers to snigger.

            "I thank you, Sons of Thranduil," said Elrond, interrupting the younger elves.

            "Our pleasure," answered the four blonde elves, bowing graciously, every inch of the young elven lords they were.

            Elrond smiled and mounted his horse.  "Take care of your brother," he reminded the twins and rode off, bidding the younger elves farewell.

            The six elves waved their good-byes and watched Elrond's figure retreat into the distance.

            "Where is he going?" Legolas asked.

            Elladan shrugged slightly.  "Not sure."

            "_Very_ responsible of you," commented Brethilorn.

            "Yes, I know," beamed Elladan.  "Don't worry.  I have it written down somewhere," he assured.

            "Yes, but where?" asked Thalion.

            "_That_, my friend, is an entirely different matter."

            Adrahil shook his head.  "You are sure you can handle Estel?"

            "Do you doubt us?" exclaimed Elrohir indignantly.  "The cheek of it!"

            "The insult!  The injury!  The outrage!" raved Elladan.

            "Alright then, o, responsible ones!  Where _is_ your charge then?" asked Legolas.

            Elladan and Elrohir quieted.  Looking around, they saw that indeed, Estel was no where to be found.  Cursing in elvish, they sprinted off, searching for their brother.

            The Mirkwood elves stood staring after the twins for a moment and then burst out laughing.  Estel was inside, napping, and had not even come out in the first place.

            "I suppose we _should_ help them," said Thalion after a few minutes.

            "What makes you think that?" asked Legolas.

            "Adrahil _did_ promise Lord Elrond we would help Elladan and Elrohir," said Brethilorn.

            "Yes, well, a little amusement first though," said Adrahil.

            The brothers smiled and sat down, watching Elladan and Elrohir continue on their mad search for their younger brother.

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Ada = Father

Tithen-las = "Little leaf" – Legolas's nickname

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	2. Chapter 2

**_Chapter 2_**

            "Eye on the arrow," Legolas reminded, as he knelt beside Estel, who was practicing his archery.  The elf helped the young human take careful aim, then let him fire.

            _Thwack!_ The arrow landed perfectly in the center of the target.

            "Ro! Dan!" Estel exclaimed excitedly, skipping to where his brothers stood with Adrahil, Brethilorn, and Thalion.  "I got a bullseye!"

            Elladan and Elrohir smiled, rumpling their brother's hair.

            "You are a deadly marksman," Elrohir said.

            "Those orcs had better watch out," sad Elladan.

            Estel grinned, then ran back to Legolas, to continue his archery lesson.

            The elves watched as Legolas demonstrated to Estel.  His arrow flew straight and true, piercing the exact center of the target.

            "When did our little Tithen-las get to be so good at archer?" asked Thalion.

            Adrahil shook his head.  "It seems overnight.  Now he's better than even you."

            Thalion protested, but gave up as they watched Legolas shoot a second arrow, this splitting the first, and then a third, splitting the second.

            "Years pass by so quickly," said Adrahil.  "Remember when it was us who used to train him?"

            Brethilorn and Thalion nodded, remembering a three-and-a-half foot tall Legolas in the archery pits, determined to beat his older brothers.

            Elladan and Elrohir sighed.  "At least you saw him grow up.  Only three _coranar_ have passed since Estel came to Imladris.  Humans grow too fast," said Elrohir.

            "Such is their curse and their gift," said Adrahil softly.

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            Brethilorn ducked a blow aimed at his head, then turned, stabbing.   Legolas parried the blow and spun, trying to kick Brethilorn's feet from under him.  But the older elf was too quick, and grabbed Legolas's foot.  Caught in the awkward position, the youngest prince of Mirkwood found his brother's blade against his neck.

            "I win again, Tithen-las," Brethilorn said, lowering his blade from his brother's neck, and letting go of his foot.

            Legolas turned, slashing at Brethilorn, who parried the blows easily.           

            Adrahil grabbed Legolas by the back of his tunic, holding him back.  "Unfair of you," he said.  "_I_ called winners."

            Legolas dropped his knife and turned, pretending to try to pummel Adrahil.  Adrahil placed a hand on his brother's head so that he couldn't be reached.  Elladan and Elrohir with the other two elves stood laughing. 

            Suddenly, Adrahil let go of Legolas's head.  The younger elf, who had been leaning his weight against the hand nearly fell over.

            "Listen!" said Adrahil suddenly before Legolas could say anything.  "That bell sound..."

            "The elves all heard the sound of a bell ringing.

            "Estel is coming," said Elladan when he heard.

            Sure enough, moments later, the boy appeared, carrying his archery equipment, a bell tied around his neck.

            "Why does he have a bell?" asked Thalion, voicing his and his brothers' questions.

            "So that we know where he is," answered Elrohir simply.  "After all, a bell is more reliable than you four."

            The four brothers grinned, remembering the day before, when they had left the twins to search almost all of Rivendell for Estel before telling them he was napping indoors.

            "Ah well," said Adrahil, "you must forgive us for that."

            "It _was_ very amusing," said Legolas.

            "The twins wore identical pouting expressions.  Their friends simply cracked bigger grins at this.

            "Come now," said Brethilorn.  "Would you two have told us if you know if we were searching for our baby brother here?" he asked, draping an arm around Legolas' shoulders, which was almost immediately thrown off.

            Elladan and Elrohir looked at each other, then looked back at their friends.  "No."

            "Point taken," said Elladan.  "Yes?" he answered his younger brother who was tugging at his sleeve.

            "Can I go hunt orcs?" Estel asked, eyes wide in hopefulness.

            "I don't know, can you?" Elladan asked.

            Elrohir, Adrahil, Brethilorn, Thalion, and Legolas all rolled their eyes.

            "_May_ I go hunt orcs?" Estel corrected himself.

            "Well…"

            "Please?"

            Elladan made a great show of thinking and pondering the question.

            "Oh, come now, Dan," said Adrahil.  "Let Estel go."

            "He is a brave warrior and an expert marksman and archer," added Legolas.

            "I agree with Blondie and Blondie," said Elrohir, earning himself two swats across the head.

            "Well, alright," said Elladan.

            Estel jumped up in delight, hugging Elladan and all the other elves tightly.  Then, he gathered his equipment, strapping on his quiver, refusing help from his brothers.

            "Le cenithon ned lû thent!" Estel said, and ran off into the forest, hunting for orcs.

            "Quit worrying," Elrohir said to his twin.  "He couldn't possibly meet any danger.  Besides, he is only playing a game."

            "I know, but if anything should happen to him…" Elladan trailed off.

            "Nothing will, you worrywart."

            Adrahil walked over to the twins, draping an arm over each of their shoulders.  "So, which of you two calls winners?"

            Elladan smiled.  "I do."

            "Very well then," said Adrahil, drawing his blade and facing Brethilorn. 

            Adrahil whirled, his knife flashing as it sliced through the air.  Brethilorn met his brother's blade with his own, then spun away from him, whipping his own knife around at Adrahil.  The elder parried the blow then drove back, slashing at his brother, who parried each blow easily.

            The other four elves watched the match intently, engaged in the show, for both opponents seemed almost evenly matched.  Suddenly their thoughts were broken by the loud tolling of a bell.  Rivendell was under attack.

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Tithen-las = "Little leaf" – Legolas' nickname

Coranar = 1 solar year – more or less 1 human year.

Le cenithon ned lû thent = "See you later"

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	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** I know there really isn't much of a forest outside of Rivendell, but I've created one for the purpose of the fic.  So don't flame me or anything just to tell me there is no forest.  Now, onto the story…

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**_Chapter 3_**

            The six elves sprang to, grabbing their weaponry that was lying about the archery pits.  Then, they headed towards the gates of Rivendell.  But before they could get there, a dozen or so orcs leapt out from the woods, in front of them.

            Without hesitation, they all drew their blades and flew at the orcs.  They moved in pairs, with deadly grace and efficiency.  Elladan, Adrahil, and Legolas drove against the rocs, with Elrohir, Brethilorn, and Thalion covering their backs.  Before long, the orcs lay dead at their feet and the elves rushed to the front gates.

            Before the gates, elves and orcs battled furiously.  Hurriedly, Elladan and Elrohir took command.  They, with the four Mirkwood elves and several archers scaled several nearby trees.  As a fresh pack of orcs entered Rivendell, the archers fired, at Elladan's command.  They let volley after volley fly.  Then, they drew their knives and swords and leapt down into the fray.

            Legolas stabbed an orc, then spun, meeting another blade.  He brought his knee up, catching the attacker in the chest then stabbed it as it keeled over.  Beside him, Adrahil ducked from a swing, slashing through the orc.  He turned, standing back-to-back with Legolas.  Together, they drove against the orcs, covering each other's backs.  A large orc charged at the pair, blade swinging.  Legolas and Adrahil stepped apart, then turned, catching the orc between them in a pincer-like move.

            Suddenly, Legolas and Adrahil felt themselves being pulled down, from the back.  A moment later, two black arrows flew past their heads.  Turning, they found their brothers and the twins.  Forming into pairs again, they stood up and continued fighting.  An orc horn sounded from the forest.  At the sound, the remaining orcs began retreating from the battle, running into the woods.

            "Odd," Elladan said, looking after the retreating enemy.  Before him, the elves that still had arrows shot at the orcs, felling several. 

            "What's odd?" Thalion asked.

            "Odd for them to beat such a quick retreat," said Elladan.  "They had no reason to."

            "Unless they have found what they came here looking for," said Adrahil, thinking aloud.

            "Where is Estel?!" Elrohir suddenly interrupted.

            Legolas looked stricken.  "He went to 'hunt orcs', remember?"

            The others cursed.  Elladan ran off, and then returned minutes later with two fresh quivers and packs.  Elrohir grabbed a quiver and a pack and he and his brother made ready to leave.

            Adrahil grabbed the twins.  "Wait a moment," he said.  "We are coming with you."  As he spoke, Thalion ran off.

            "No, we cannot put you in any danger," said Elrohir.

            "We already are in danger," said Brethilorn, "whether you wish us to be or not."

            "We promised to help you take care of Estel," said Legolas.             

            Thalion returned with the supplies.  Each blonde elf grabbed a pack and a quiver.

            "Then let's go," said Elladan, and led the search party into the forest.

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Amthramiel – Thnx for the review!  lol.  I can never think of anything to say in reviews either.  :D

grumpy – Thnx :D  Yes, the bell on the baby's neck…I've always wanted to do that…

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Sorry, bout the short chp.  I'll try to get the next one up tomorrow.

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Please leave a review .  Thank you!

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	4. Chapter 4

**_Chapter 4_**

            Elrohir looked up, hearing a slight rustling in the tree above him.  Quietly, he drew an arrow from his quiver and strung his bow.

            A strand of blond hair poked through the leaves.  The half elf found himself looking into familiar deep blue eyes.  "Legolas!" he hissed, lowering his bow and arrow.

            The wood-elf leapt from the tree, landing silently, cat-like on the forest floor.  "Seen anything?" he asked his friend in a low voice, as he straightened.

            Elrohir shook his head.  "This isn't like usual orc behavior.  They usually leave a path of destruction behind them.  These have left tracks, but they end up going in a circle."

            Legolas nodded, as what Elrohir said was consistent with what he had found.  He furrowed his brows in thought.  "They must be taking orders from someone," he said.

            "Of course, but who?"

            "Someone who might know who Estel is," came Elladan's voice from behind.  Adrahil, Brethilorn, and Thalion were with him.

            Elrohir sighed sharply.  "You don't think-" he began.

            "Usual orcs would not be this careful, or this intelligent if they were only hunting for fresh meat," said Elladan.

            "You are right of course," agreed his twin.  "But to think that He as grown to this much power?  That He knows?" Elrohir said in a distressed voice.     

            All the while the four Mirkwood Elves were having trouble following the twins' cryptic conversation.

            "_Who_ is Estel really?" Thalion asked.

            Elladan and Elrohir looked at each other, sharing a look of grim agreement.  Elladan said gravely to his friends, "What we are about to tell you is a matter of life and death.  It is a secret bigger than all of us.  Reveal this to no-one, until it is time.  And you _will_ know when it is time."

            The four brothers looked at each other.  There was no jest in Elladan's eyes.  "We swear upon pain of death and eternal banishment from Mandos' Halls that we will never speak of this secret to anyone."

            "Alright then," said Elladan, after looking deeply into each of his friends' eyes.  His voice was barely audible, "You know of the tale of the One Ring of power, forged by the Dark Lord Sauron?"

            "Yes," said Legolas.  "It was cut from the Dark Lord's hand by Isildur, son of the King of Gondor."  

            Elrohir nodded.  "Then you know also that Isildur refused to destroy the Ring, despite our father's urging, and put it down that it should be an heirloom to his line?"

            The four brothers nodded.

            "The Dark Lord is gathering power, as you know all to well," said Elrohir, speaking of the shadow that grew over Mirkwood.  "And he now is searching for his most prized and powerful possession, the One Ring."

            "He searches ever for the heir of Isildur," continued Elladan.  "He believes that he may have in his possession the Ring, and that the heir alone has the power to destroy Him – to finish what his ancestor could not.  Estel was born Aragorn, son of Arathorn, heir to the throne of Gondor, and he will know this name once more when the time comes."

            Adrahil, Brethilorn, Thalion, and Legolas drew breath collectively, realizing the full burden of the secret they now shared.

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            Elladan, Brethilorn, and Thalion sat in a clearing, waiting for the others to return from scouting out the road.  They sat in the dark, without a fire, for they could not risk being seen.

            "We will be out of the woods and heading towards the Mountains by dawn if we continue East," said Brethilorn.  "Do you think we are going in the right direction?"

            "I believe we are," said Elladan quietly.  "They must be headed that way.  To Dol Guldur."

            "Then we must intercept them before they can travel as far as that," said Thalion.

            "That is not the problem, for that is easy enough.  The problem is, what will we do then, after we intercept them?" pointed out Elladan.  'Kill them all and bring Estel home?"

            "You wish," came a deep, growling voice from behind the elves.  They were knocked into dark unconsciousness before any of them could react.

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Deana – hi again!  :D  yes, the classic bell…

sielge – lol.  wait no longer…

grumpy – yes, ironic isn't it?  lol

Haldir's Heart and Soul – thnx for the reviews ;) yes, they should have supervised him, but i guess, they really didn't feel the need to since they're in rivendell.  nice name, btw :D

Amthramiel – maybe… ;)  i guess that's kind of answered in this chappie, tho.

Amlee – happy you like it!  thnx!  :) 

Velvet12 – thnx :D  glad you're enjoying this

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Yes, I know I said I'd have it up sooner, sorry!  I haven't had much time to get around to the fic recently.

Please leave a review .  Thank you!

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	5. Chapter 5

**_Chapter 5_**

Elladan groaned as he opened his eyes. The back of his head throbbed painfully, and his arms and ankles burned. He blinked to clear his vision and looked around. It was still dark. He was tied to a giant boulder, ankles bound tightly, mouth gagged. His knife, quiver, and bow were all gone. On either side of him, Brethilorn and Thalion were bound to the boulder.

"Finally awake," Thalion commented wryly.

"Urgmph."

"You're gagged," Brethilorn pointed out.

Elladan rolled his eyes. "Mmph urghmph phmf?" He twisted his head as far as he could, looking at his tied up companions. "Mwrph urph urph phmfs?"

"Where are our gags?" repeated Thalion.

Suddenly, Elladan felt a claw-like hand grab him by the back of his head and tear the gag off unceremoniously. His head was shoved back, knocking against the rock. Elladan felt a hot, sticky fluid being forced down his throat. He coughed and spluttered, spitting out much of the liquid.

"Elfling doesn't want to take his medicine," the orc growled.

Elladan looked up. A large orc was standing over him, several others with him.

One of the smaller orcs licked his chops. "They look tasty…"

"No!" snapped the large one. "From what we heard them say, the little one could be useful with the Dark Lord."

"Then why keep these three?" the hungry one snapped back. "It's the little one He'll want…"

"You never know if He'll want them too. Better not find out the hard way."

The Hungry One gave up, and stalked away from the elves, muttering to himself. The other orcs followed.

"Estel na sí?" Elladan asked his two companions, speaking in their native tongue to keep the orcs from understanding.

"It seems so."

"And they overheard us in the forest?" asked Thalion incredulously.

"Damn right we did," came the voice of the orc leader. He shoved a chunk of rotting bread in each elf's mouth. "Dunno what all the stuff about rings and funny names and heirs were, but sounded important. No doubt the Dark will know though." He laughed. "Not as secretive or attentive as you'd like to think, eh?" and with that, he left the captives.

The elves spat out the bread contemptuously.

"So we were wrong. He doesn't know," said Elladan.

"He doesn't know _yet_," Brethilorn pointed out. "If we don't do something He will know."

They were suddenly interrupted by the sound of a familiar bell. Looking up, they saw an orc carrying a small, limp form towards them. The bell sounded with every step he took. The orc laid the form at the elves' feet. It was Estel.

The orc leader marched over and cuffed the orc viciously. "Fool," he snarled. "Didn't I tell you to take the bell off?"

The orc glared at his leader, then yanked the bell off Estel's neck and tossed it over the elves' heads. The bell clanged loudly as it landed on the stones. The orc received another cuff and scurried off.

The leader set up a guard of about twenty around the captives then turned to address the rest of his troop. There were far more orcs then they had originally thought there to be.

"Let's go get those elves fefore they get us." The orc troop ran out from the camp, back toward the forest.

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Estel na sí? = Estel is here?

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Amlee – Yes, evil of me, isn't it… :D dun dun dun…

Amthramiel – yeah. good point… oops.

Haldir's Heart and Soul – Yup. they sure did.

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Please leave a review . Thank you!

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